TICKETS FOR ASSIGNED SEATS CAN BE BOUGHT STARTING NEXT WEEK. SUNFLOWER SEASON IS HERE, BUT FOR ONE LOCAL FARM – IT’S HAD TO CLOSE ITS BUSINESS THIS YEAR. CENTERFIELD SUNFLOWERS IS A 5 TO 6-ACRE SUNFLOWER FARM IN TONTITOWN WHERE IT HASN’T BEEN ALL SUNSHINE AND GOOD TIMES. MARK WAGNER, THE OWNER AND OPERATOR, NOW FINDS HIMSELF REACTING TO A CURVEBALL THAT MOTHER NATURE HAS THROWN HIM AND HIS FAMILY. HE SAYS THE WEATHER HAS HURT HIS FARM, FROM THE MAY 18TH HAILSTORM TO THE SPRING AND SUMMERTIME RAINS, <“We call the farm Centerfield Sunflowers – It is a play on words – because, originally, when we started this operation, we did it as a way to raise money to support my son and their baseball.”> <“It helps my family quite a bit.”> <“… 100% of the revenue went to the entire team into the general funds of the team to help pay for the team’s expenses …”> <“… it is a hardship … It is revenue that we were hoping for that we’re not going to have this year.”> HE HOPES NEXT YEAR’S SEASON WILL BE BIG
Sunflower season is here, but, for Mark Wagner, owner and operator of Centerfield Sunflowers, it’s looking a little different this year.Mother Nature threw Wagner a couple of curveballs, beginning with the May 18 hailstorm. He learned that too much rain is not a good thing. Filled with what seems like a sense of peace, Wagner speaks from the heart: “Being a farmer gives you an opportunity to lead a life of faith,” Wagner said. “You don’t get to control things like the weather. In the end, you’re putting your seeds in the ground and you’re doing the best you can. I have no doubt that the Lord gave me this opportunity to learn about sunflowers, to try to figure out what went wrong, and to just lean on him to provide for our family.”Wagner, originally, started his 5 to 6-acre farm to raise money to support his son’s baseball.”One-hundred percent of the revenue went to the entire team into the general funds of the team to help pay for the team’s expenses,” Wagner said. This past year, Wagner said that he welcomed three or four thousand people to pick and take pics. He added that he hopes next year’s season will be bigger and better, beginning around the last week of June and ending by the end of July.
Sunflower season is here, but, for Mark Wagner, owner and operator of Centerfield Sunflowers, it’s looking a little different this year.
Mother Nature threw Wagner a couple of curveballs, beginning with the May 18 hailstorm. He learned that too much rain is not a good thing. Filled with what seems like a sense of peace, Wagner speaks from the heart:
“Being a farmer gives you an opportunity to lead a life of faith,” Wagner said. “You don’t get to control things like the weather. In the end, you’re putting your seeds in the ground and you’re doing the best you can. I have no doubt that the Lord gave me this opportunity to learn about sunflowers, to try to figure out what went wrong, and to just lean on him to provide for our family.”
Wagner, originally, started his 5 to 6-acre farm to raise money to support his son’s baseball.
“One-hundred percent of the revenue went to the entire team into the general funds of the team to help pay for the team’s expenses,” Wagner said.
This past year, Wagner said that he welcomed three or four thousand people to pick and take pics. He added that he hopes next year’s season will be bigger and better, beginning around the last week of June and ending by the end of July.
